India's Premier Fashion and Lifestyle Magazine

Oct 19, 2012Oct 19, 2012

DIY – THE BOOTY BAG

By: Nuri Chimnani

If you’ve got a few hours to spare, we recommend trying out the DIY booty bag. Turn to your craft kit and make an afternoon of it. This bag is made from the booty of a pair of jeans. Known as the ‘booty bag’, it already comes with lots of pockets to hold just about everything. This is a great way to recycle old pants or shorts into something new and chic.

Follow these simple directions to make your own ‘booty bag’.
You will need:

A pair of jeans -Use jeans that you don’t mind cutting up. The condition of the legs doesn’t matter, but the backside and front should be in good condition. Make sure your jeans have belt loops.

A Sweet Belt- Your purse will be ‘wearing’ this belt.

Scissors

Sewing Needle and Thread

(Optional)Sewing Machine

Measuring Tape

Chalk

Now you are ready to get started.

Lay the jeans out on the floor or on a table, backside up, so you are looking at the back pockets. You will be cutting the legs off, right where they meet the crotch. Reach into the front pockets and pull them inside out so that you don’t accidentally cut them.
For a straight-bottomed purse, start at one side and cut all the way across in a straight line. To make a straight line, you may have to cut off a bit of the crotch seam. Be careful not to cut into the back pockets.
To make a purse that is shaped like a ‘V’ on the bottom, start at the crotch and cut an upward diagonal line to the leg seam. Repeat on the other side. Once your jeans are cut, you can stitch up the bottom.

Now that you have just the booty of the jeans left, you’ll need to sew up the bottom to make a purse shape. Break out the needle and thread or sewing machine. Start sewing with medium sized stitches (about 1/8” long) all the way across. If you are using a sewing machine, be careful of sewing through the seams. Thick seams can break your needle, so go slow or hand-crank these parts. Be sure to use a thick needle that is intended for use on denim to avoid breaks. Tie off the threads to prevent your new seam from unraveling.

Now you are all set to make a handle.

Make a Handle Lace the belt through the belt loops. Buckle it as though you would if you were wearing it. To make a handle, you can use strips from the jeans legs. For a handbag handle, cut two strips that are 2” wide by 20” long. For a shoulder bag handle, use one strip of 2” wide by 40” long denim. Cut the strips to the desired length and then attach them to the bag by tying them onto the belt on either side. You can customize your bag in a lot of ways. Let’s look at some style tips.

Tips

The best part about this bag is the versatility of the look.

Have fun with the denim. Try putting on an iron-on patch or add an array of pins and buttons.

Change up the belt to renew your bag. Try belts with large or jeweled belt buckles. You can change your belt each season to match color trends. Even use a neck tie belt.

Switch up the handle with one of your favorite scarves. Thin, decorative scarves can be tied onto each side. Thicker, crocheted winter scarves can be safety pinned.

Use the extra leg material to make patches or different length handles.